Erasing the past by draining the libraries

Share this:

How many books did you eat as a kid? Why should the whole society have to suffer because “parents” don’t teach their kids how to handle items? I can think of other reasons that kids should not be putting library books in their mouths. They probably also shouldn’t put them in the toilet or spread them with peanut butter.

http://ymarsakar.wordpress.com/ Ymarsakar

He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.

Quisp

The CPSIA is an abysmal law. It’s shutting down small businesses that make clothes, toys and other items for children because the testing requirements are so onerous and expensive. Kid-sized dirt bikes have been removed from stores (because kids are so apt to suck on the lead pieces) leading to children on larger bikes not designed for their size and weight. Thrift stores and yard sales are subject to the same restrictions as retailers. There’s been a stay of enforcement for some areas, but that’s hardly a comfort. “It’s still against the law, but we haven’t figured out how to charge you for it – yet.”

Books like Madeline and Corduroy aren’t in much danger, since they’re pretty much always in print. There will be titles that are irretrievably lost, though. I’d think this would affect used booksellers more than libraries – do many children’s books make it intact through 25 years of being read by small people, no matter how carefully?

SGT Dave

All,
Once upon a time I worked for Scholastic, Inc, in the distribution warehouse. Corduroy and Madeline are still in print in both paperback and hardback, along with a host of other books (quite a few rare). If you have one that you feel is important to get out there, drop the folks at Scholastic a line. Yes, they are a huge corporate concern, but they are also responsive to the marketplace (i.e. – a reprint of the Chronicles of Narnia over five years before the movies started up in response to a letter campaign).
If there is a market for the book, they’ll either distribute it or print and distribute it.
And if you should perchance end up in the middle of the U.S. with nothing to do (which is very, very common in Jefferson City, MO!) you can take your kids out Highway 50 East to McCarty Street and visit Scholastic’s distribution center. They give tours (led by volunteer employees who enjoy the break from the line or the phones) and show everything from the call center to the mail- and online- order areas and the “line” where your books are packed up for shipping to the schools. It is an impressive setup; when I worked there we could process 50,000 orders on a given day, with a three-day order-to-ship turn around. Call it half a million books shipped to schools every day from October through April on average.
I may not work there any more, but I still have some fond memories of some of the people and I’ve worked in far worse places *cough* Baghdad *cough*.
Books, especially today, are not gone until the last copy is deleted from file or falls apart; with scanning technology and new printers, you can even .pdf one you want to preserve and print new copies from the color laserjet every time your child spills milk on it. (I checked “fair use” and as long as you own a legal copy you can “fairly” reproduce it for continued use (not distribution) against damage and unusual wear and tear – which describes 3-6 year olds exactly).

SSG Dave
“I read because my mind can travel distances that my body cannot spare the time to overcome.”